According To Don Nardo's The Trial Of Socrates

Improved Essays
Athens on Trial
In 399 BCE a grave mistake was made by Athens which will go down in history. It was the trial and execution of Socrates, a great and mysterious philosopher. Socrates was charged and found guilty for not worshiping the gods and corrupting the mind of the youth. Both off the charges are trumped up or not true at all because he believed i vn the Oracle of Delphi but did not agree with what it was saying and that he did not tell the kids to follow what he was doing, they did it on their own free will. Socrates was executed because, after the Peloponnesian war, athenians were very paranoid so the blame was shifted to Socrates, He was seen as an outsider because of his axil ideas that contrasted with athens’ perennial based society, and the charges he was facing were inaccurate.
Socrates was executed by Athens because after the Peloponnesian war people were anxious and paranoid. The people of athens did not trust Socrates because he was linked with a tration named Alcibiades. According to Don Nardo in his book, The Trial of Socrates, he
…show more content…
Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth and not worshiping the gods. (Nardo 9) The charge of Socrates not worshiping to gods is false because according to “The Apology” by Plato He not only believed in the god's existence he used The Oracle of Delphi as a witness for his defense (108). Socrates states that that The Oracle of Delphi tells him that there is no one wiser than him, so they should spare his life (Plato 109). This shows that the charger of not worshiping the gods is false because he did believe in them just not agree with them. The charge of corrupting the youth is also false. In his apology, Socrates states that he was did not teach the youth they merely just followed him on their own free will (Plato 109). This shows that he couldn't of corrupted the youth because he did not explicitly tell them to do what he does and become his

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    During his exchange with Meletus, Socrates’ accuser, Socrates states that if he participates in daimonic activities, he must believe in daimons. When Meletus agrees, Socrates goes on to explain that daimons are the children of gods, and Meletus concurs once again. This could have arguably been Meletus’ worst mistake in the trial. Socrates goes on to question how, if he does not believe in gods, he could believe in daimons and engage in daimonic activities. The answer to this question reads, “There’s no conceivable way you could persuade any man with even the slightest intelligence that the same person believes in both daimonic activities and gods, and, on the contrary, that this same person believes neither in daimons, nor in gods, nor in heroes,” (Plato 32).…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At the time of Socrates arrest he was 70 years old. He was arrested on the charges of believing in false gods and for corrupting the minds of the youth. These charges have philosophical reflections within them. This trial holds great importance for philosophy. The Trial of Socrates can also been seen as the Trial of philosophy.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the apology, Socrates arguments against the charges of corruption of the youth was that the youth follow him around when he is speaking and he can not force them to go away. This point makes sense, because Socrates can not force the kids to do anything that they do not want to do. However, I believe that this argument is not strong enough to help clear the charge against him. Then, Socrates asked Meletas that if he really thought about corruption then he must have thought about improvement, because a person can not think about corruption without thinking about improvement. So Socrates asked Meletas multiple questions about who improves the youth and Meletas answered that everyone in Athens improves the youth but Socrates.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In The Apology, Socrates explains his reasoning for why he was put on trial and how the jury should proceed. He tried to persuade the jury not to put him to death, but instead have him pay a fine (which he could not afford), exile him, or give him no consequence. Also, Socrates was very…

    • 1975 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Arguably the most influential philosopher to emerge from Ancient Greece, Socrates was widely despised throughout his lifetime for his incessant search to find a man with more wisdom than he. Socrates was subjected to trial on the charges of impiety and corruption of the youth and was ultimately deemed guilty by the jury. Plato recounts Socrates’ lengthy speech of defense and his subsequent sentence to execution in his dialogue, The Apology. Regardless of his innocence or guilt, however, the verdict of Socrates’ execution is the most appropriate outcome of the trial. In his plea for acquittal, Socrates unwittingly proposes a more compelling argument in support of his own execution rather than against it.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Within Athens during this time period a generational rift had already begun wherein the older generation perceived the newer generations’ ideas as radical and disrespectful. Since sophists had been blamed for the change in the Athenian youth, and Socrates was associated as a Sophist it only made sense that people would blame Socrates for the change in the youth’s ideas. Aristophanes’ “Clouds” was only one of the factors that led Socrates to be brought to trial. In fact there were so many “forces” against Socrates that even he was surprised at how close the guilty verdict was, “I am much more surprised at the number of votes cast on each side, for I did not think the decision would be by so few votes but by a great many. As it is, a switch of only thirty votes would have acquitted me,” (Plato 36a 1 – 4).…

    • 2212 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Was Socrates Important

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In this essay, I am going to talk about why I think Socrates was put on trial when he was seventy years old and only had a few more years of life to live and what factors such as personal, political and cultural,…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates Downfall

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Part of the evidence that was presented against Socrates was that he was corrupting the youth of Athens with his false doctrines. Socrates was also charged with encouraging evil actions like attempting to destabilize society. His constant battles with high ranking officials led to his demise as they were afraid that he would expose them. These officials were using their status for personal gain and Socrates was out on a mission to reveal their true intentions. His enemies, however, used his thirst for wisdom against him and proclaimed that he was trying to seek the intentions of the gods which is forbidden in their beliefs.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of Socrates childhood friends, Crito, tried to persuade Socrates to getaway before his trial began. Socrates replied that he “listens to nothing … but the argument that on reflection seems best” and that “neither to do wrong or to return a wrong is ever right, not even to injure in return for an injury received” (Crito 46b, 49d), not even under threat of death (Apology 32a), not even for one’s family (Crito 54b). Words like these, according to the judge, proved that he was a corrupter of the young because of the shame brought onto his family and friends. The word choice/confidence used by Socrates to never listen to others advice but to advice unlawfully proved this to be an accusation. He encouraged his friends and even others to follow the path that he himself has chosen.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you think Socrates did the right thing by allowing himself to be unjustly executed? Socrates had made an intelligent decision by sacrificing himself to protect the “Social contract” between the state and him, rather than escape from prison to break the rules. Use life to exchange for the preservation of his thought Escape from the prison is equivalent to destruct all of his thought and value what he had constructed during his lifetime. Because leaving Athens is kind of actions to contradict what he taught to his followers, be faithful to the righteousness.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Contradiction of Socrates Plato illustrates Socrates in two different aspects in The Apology and in The Crito, which makes the reader ponder which interpretation of Socrates is substantial and which is fictions. Precisely, Plato portrayed Socrates with many inconsistencies in The Apology the emphasis was on obeying the Gods in contrast in The Crito the emphasis was on obeying the laws of Athens. In Plato’s Apology initiates with Socrates’ defense to the Athenian court demonstrating his innocence of the charges brought against him. Socrates was accused of breaking various laws under the Athenian court, the most significant laws were corrupting the youth and believing and worshiping in different Gods that the rest of the citizens in…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Perhaps Socrates realized the courts were right in his sentence because he was not truly wise and had in fact corrupted the minds of the youth. Or, maybe he knew that if he was to be acquitted of the charges he would continue his teachings and probably end up back in jail, and would rather not waste the time and effort. Or, maybe Socrates’ love of Athens and the respect he had for the government and the courts decision stopped him from fleeing his death…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates was the main cause of his own death while under trial. In the Athenian system, for this kind of trial, a defendant could suggest his own penalty. Instead of taking this opportunity seriously, Socrates first jokingly said that he should be rewarded instead and put into the same chambers as the Olympians. Obviously, his jurors did not see the humility in this and therefore, passed the death…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Arguments Against Socrates

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Socrates argument In the apology book Socrates have many accusers. Now he is accused of corrupting the youth but He is denying the allegations he is saying that he could not intentionally corrupt anyone. Some people are convinced that he is speaking the truth but some people thing that he is lying.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If someone had told him then he would have known better not have done it. Socrates also believes that without him the entire city will turn ignorant and will never know what true wisdom is and tells the court that he is helping the people of this city by keeping their minds active. When the jury decides that Socrates was indeed guilty they let him choose his punishment of being exiled or going to prison. Socrates said that he did not want to be exiled because Athens was his home and he did not want to leave his home, he wanted to stay there and help the society. He chose the punishment of being fed by the government…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays